In the Arms of Angels
by shistarlet
Summary: Without any words, the boys walk to the Curtis house. Most likely, Soda wiould be in bed like each night before work, while Darry sat in the living room, reading the paper, waiting for them...first of series


**Title: **In the Arms of Angels  
**Rating: **PG  
**Fandom: **Outsiders  
**Disclaimer: **Don't own 'em...if I did, well, you'd know!  
**Summary: **_Without any words, the boys walk to the Curtis house. Most likely, Soda would be in bed like each night before work, while Darry sat in the living room, reading the paper, waiting for them..._

She'd never felt so safe. His arms, though he didn't think he was muscular, felt like a fort around her trembling body. She shook from both the cold and her own fear. Situations where he was threatened had that affect on her.

He pulled her closer to his body, radiating heat as it often did after a fight. She figured it was the adrenaline that pumped through his veins. That was also what made his heart beat so hard against his chest. She was always thankful that the organ sounded so strong on nights like this. She dreaded the day it would cease to beat so clearly in her ears, as she pressed herself into him.

She hoped that one of these nights, she would simply melt into him, and they'd stay like this forever. He was the only person that made her feel that it was necessary to wake up each day. She assumed that she would die without him. Or maybe she hoped for it. If he wasn't by her side, she just couldn't do it anymore.

"You still cold?" his voice was soft in her ear. She nodded, her grip on him tightening. She heard him chuckle softly. Closing her eyes, she could see exactly what that smile would look like, lit up by the fire before them. He held her tighter still, as his soft laughter subsided.

The rustling of leaves behind them didn't surprise or startle either of them. They weren't trying to hide by any means.

"Aren't you two freezing?" Ponyboy asked. She could feel him sit down behind her, his body warm as well.

"Most people dress for the weather, stupid," the voice rumbled in the chest she clung to.

"Well, since I so conveniently forgot, I'll just huddle here with you two for warmth," Pony retorted, and she could see his smile behind dark eyelids as well.

She reveled in the feeling of his weight against her back, squeezing her further between their two bodies, making her the center of a greaser sandwich. They both smelled of cigarette smoke and sweat, which she didn't mind at all. Some things you just grow accustomed to over time. Growing up with these boys, she'd long surpassed accustomed.

Pony's arm was slung over her waist, over another, which belonged to his best friend. She assumed they both figured she was asleep since she hadn't moved or spoken since before Pony had shown up. They always gave her a hard time for being able to "sleep through anything". Two-Bit had even suggested on more than one occasion that an apocalyptic size tornado could hit Tulsa, pick her up where ever she was sleeping, set her down in hell, and she wouldn't bat an eyelash.

Soda was the only one who knew why she slept like that when the gang was around. She was too terrified to even close her eyes at home. Sometimes she went for hours without so much as blinking, curled up in a desolate corner of her bare bedroom, staring straight ahead at the door in case either mother or father came bursting through.

She may have grown up with all the boys, but her stubborn nature had kept her from telling anyone besides Soda. She didn't want their pity. They'd all been through rough times; she just accepted it and moved on. Soda kept his mouth shut out of respect for her. He completely understood why she didn't want anyone to know. He was also the only one who knew that she slept best curled up next to Johnny Cade, like tonight.

She figured they all knew she felt closest to him, even Johnny himself. They shared a connection that didn't need to be spoken. Put Ponyboy in the mix, and they were like three damaged peas in a poorly constructed pod. They always had been. 'Least long as anyone could remember.

She liked it that way. Johnny and Pony always seemed to know what she was going to say even before the thought formed in her brain. They each seemed able to read the others' minds. Communication was never a problem between the three. Darry had even voiced the suspicion that they had their own unspoken, secret language. Everyone got a kick out of the far-fetched thought.

She could feel Pony's breathing, slow and even against her spine. It never took him long to fall asleep. Just as Pony was so relaxed, so was Johnny coursing with nervous energy.

Barely moving, so as not to wake Pony, she tilted her head back to look up at Johnny. "You okay?" she whispered, basking in the glow of the smile that greeted her.

"I thought you were asleep, Ace," he replied, equally as quiet. It had been years since she'd heard any of them use her birth name, which was all right; she felt Grace was too sissy anyway. Aside from being the last three letters of her name, she'd earned the nickname 'Ace' due to her talent for putting any of the boys in their place with a single insult, or even just a look. That included Dally.

"I asked if you're okay, Johnny," she repeated, driving the question home.

"Yeah, I'm okay," he responded, eyes turning back to the fire once again.

She knew he was thinking about the beating he'd received a few months ago from a bunch of self-righteous Socs. It was the same beating that had given him the scar on his cheek that she could see clearly in the firelight.

Tenderly, she stretched out the hand that had lay over his heart, and touched the scar with gentle fingertips.

"I'm so sorry, Johnny," she sighed, feeling the burning sensation behind her eyes. "I should have gone with you that night."

He looked down at her, a scalding heat in his dark eyes. "Don't you dare think that it was your fault. I don't even want to think about what they'd have done to you," he scolds, his free hand cupping her cheek in a mirror motion. He wipes away the single tear that falls down from her own dark eyes. "They don't recognize guy or girl, just greaser and soc. They'd have done awful things to you."

Her eyes held a shining comprehension, and once again, he heard it in their "unspoken language". He nodded, showing her that he understood and also that she was to never speak like that again.

"It wasn't them tonight, was it?" she asked, facing the fire again, her head cradled between his chest and shoulder.

"No," he sighed, the nervous energy returning at the thought of those who attacked him still being out there, waiting.

"We're going to find him, them, and they're going to pay," Pony's tired voice came against her shoulder. "Don't worry, Johnny. They can't get away with this."

Ace rolled over between them, now able to face either of them. "Just promise me that you'll both be careful," she requests, as both a set of dark brown and gray green eyes settle on her softly lit face. "I don't want anything to happen to you two. If Darry won't let me come along, then you have to swear to me that you'll both be extra careful. Use your heads."

In all seriousness, both boys nod, each of them tightening their respective grip on her.

"And you have to promise not to worry so much," Pony puts in.

"And get more sleep," Johnny nods.

She smiles up at them, knowing that she'll never stop worrying about them, after all, they're her everything. And she'd never sleep at home, that was for sure. "I'll sleep more if you two stay with me," she hesitantly admonished. They both nod and smile.

Relieved, she turns to rest her head on Johnny's chest again. Both pairs of arms wrap around her small body, Johnny's head atop hers and Pony's on her shoulder.

She can feel each and every one of her muscles relax as they seem to melt together. A small smile curls her full pink lips as the comfort of sleep overcomes her.

Johnny waits a while after she's fallen asleep before nudging Ponyboy with his elbow, the one that cradles Ace against him.

Slowly and silently, Pony unravels himself and stands, preparing to put out the fire. With the ease of experience, Johnny slips an arm under her knees and cradles her small body in his arms.

Without any words, the boys walk to the Curtis house. Most likely, Soda will be in bed, like each night before work, while Darry sits in the living room, reading the paper, waiting for Pony and Johnny to show up with Ace. They'd all become used to this routine after each rumble or equally serious occasion. Ace most likely wouldn't be surprised to wake up on the Curtis couch, Johnny on the floor next to her while Ponyboy slept in the chair, as though on watch. Never really knowing how she got there, but just as thankful that she had people who loved her enough to care.

**Fin**


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